Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Since I communicate on about the level of a 3 year old, I get to work in the two and three's Sunday School class. I actually love it more than I dreamed possible.

(They are not all really two's or three's. Jeremiah is actually almost one and Annilise is almost 2, so we have our challenges)

Well, meet the class...This is Gabriel. He is two. He is big and strong for his age. He has the cutest smile and the strongest punch. He and Hannah like to fight. His favorite move is to grab her hair and pull as hard as he can!This is Abner. Abner is super smart. He is always the first to memorize his verse and is always ready to quote it, although the reference for every verse is John 3:16! His parents are planning to be missionaries in the northern part of our state, Parana, so in January we will lose him.

This is my precious Hannah. She really likes to sing songs in class. She has learned her first verse in Portuguese, but is timid to say it for other people. She is becoming quite skilled at coloring. In January Hannah turns four so she will move up to the pre-primary class!

This is Annilise. She is almost 2. (Her mom is the head teacher in our class.) She and Hannah are great friends but Annilise gets jealous of Jeremiah. Annilise is the youngest coffee drinker I know. Sunday nights after the service we have small cups of coffee and Annilise always begs for coffee mixed with water. (Which she gets!)

Finally, here is our littlest class member. He loves to sit in the chair like the big kids. When it is time to color we have to be on a close look-out for him. He is always hunting around looking for a lose crayon to hold or eat! He is growing up so quick. It won't be long until he will be quoting the verses with us.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Yesterday was Children's Day, a national holiday here. We all had a day off of school so we decided to have a little family fun. We went to the Curitiba Zoo.

This is Daniel with his favorite animal!

It was a free zoo, but very nice and lots of fun. One of the coolest things was that you were closer to the animals than in the zoo's in the states. We were separated from the monkeys by only a small river. It felt like you were really close and could almost reach out and touch them.

We took a picnic lunch and really just had a great time.

As we started to leave, Grandpa's car broke down. While we waited for a tow truck, we spent the extra time looking at all the vendors set up right outside the zoo. We are so glad for the extra time because we ended up trying some new things, like fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. This man is running lengths of sugar cane through a machine. It is making the sweetest juice.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Last Sunday was the 5th birthday of our church, New Life Baptist Church. We started the celebration with special services on Saturday night. Missionary Max Lanz was our special speaker for the weekend.

The Mother Church, Calvary Baptist, came over on Saturday night to worship with us. We had a wonderful time of singing, prayer, fellowship and a great challenge from the Word.It was wonderful to hear testimony of how God led this church to be started and to see and hear how lives have been changed through the power of the Gospel.

This is Adir. He and his family have been faithfully serving at Nova Vida since it began.

Please keep praying for Nova Vida and all believers here in Brazil. The control that satan has over the people here is so powerful.

This week James and I found this paper on the street. Here is what it says at the end:

"Make 9 prayers, just like our lady who appeared, for 60 days and then throw this on the street and make your request.

This is the "Lady who Appeared"

She is the Patron Saint of Brazil. The story goes like this...

In 1717 three men were told to go catch some fish to feed a visiting Governor. After many long hours of fishing and catching nothing, they threw the net and drew in the body of this statue. They threw the net again and drew in the head, which fit the body perfectly. After this "miracle" they caught many fish and the lady has been blessing this town ever since. The town is actually named Aparecida, after the apperance of this saint.

This is the Lady's church. It is the second largest Catholic church in the world. Second only to the Pope's church in Rome. And this church is actually only 2 inches smaller!

I have read that there are over 10 million visitors here yearly. II Corinthians 4:3-4 says, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ."Please pray as we share the light of the gospel with Brazilians, that God will shine in their hearts and show them the glory of Jesus Christ!

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Let me start with buying ground beef and produce at our little corner market, Yasui. I walked to the 2 blocks to the store with my list in hand, including what to ask for at the meat counter. I started with the produce because I felt more confident with that. I started putting items in my basket because I didn't see any bags. Praise the Lord another person came in to shop. I followed her example and it really helped. I saw where she found bags and then I realized that before you check out, you have to have all your produce weighed and tagged with the price. So, with great trepidation, I waited in line, hoping no one would ask me a question. Once everything was weighed they asked me something. I had no idea what they said. So I said, "Nao, falla Portuguese." (I say that a lot) :) Next I needed to get my meat at the meat counter. I read the words James had written and watched as the man grabbed a huge slab of meat and ground it right there in front of me! I don't know why I never thought about them doing that in America. I guess it is because I have NEVER seen them do it. I loved how fresh it was! As a side note, the meat here is so lean that I have to add water when cooking it or it will stick to the bottom. I would guess about 97% lean. 2.2. pounds costs $3 (approx.)

I do my main grocery shopping at a big store, similar to a super Walmart. One thing I noticed that is different is the huge displays of garlic and onions. They have large tables mounded with these. I would say these are major staples in Brazilian diets. There is a huge variety of produce, including at least 3 different types of Bananas. Yuummm! I have just discovered the Brazilian version of an Avocado. It is ENORMOUS! At least 3x bigger than any I have seen in the US. Here they eat avocados with milk and sugar. I have been mixing it in my blender with an apple, banana a little milk. It is great! The picture includes a pear, pineapple and the avocado so you can see the comparison.

Several times, I have bought the wrong items because I couldn't read the package correctly.1. I thought I was buying lasagna noodles, I bought a lasagna (no refrigeration required)2. I thought I was buying Corn bread mix, I bought Corn starch. (The word for corn here is milho, so wouldn't you think this was Corn bread mix????)3. I thought I was buying normal rice (is there more than white or brown?) In Brazil there are several kinds and whatever I bought was NOT the kind James likes! (Parabolized, I still don't know what that means) I have since found good rice.

I can't think of anything else I have bought that was completely wrong, but I know there have been more. I would love to take you shopping with me some time, so come on down! We'll have an adventure together.

The Taylors

Daniel, Hannah & Jer

About Me

We are the Taylors. We have 3 children, Daniel, Hannah, Jeremiah and are missionaries in Brazil. Our hearts desire is to grow in our relationship with our heavenly Father, living zealously for Him. Sharing the precious hope of salvation with those who are blinded by the lies of this world.